An Analysis of the Lakers’ Potential Starters
One way or another, the Los Angeles Lakers will have a new starting line-up once the 2022-2023 season begins. LA currently has a plethora of possibilities for their starting five as the season draws nearer, each with its own set of advantages and drawbacks.
That notion has been on full display of late as new Lakers Head Coach Darvin Ham has been experimenting with different lineup combinations throughout much of the preseason.
With nothing set in stone as of yet, let’s take a look at a couple different combinations we could see deployed.
A Westbrook-Nunn Backcourt
This choice may surprise fans for a variety of reasons. For one, it’s already been discussed ad nauseum on social media that Russell Westbrook may come off the bench this season due to the arrival of Patrick Beverley and Dennis Schroder.
For another, Kendrick Nunn hasn’t played a single NBA minute since Game Four of the first round of the 2021 playoffs with the Miami Heat. He ultimately missed all of last season due to a knee injury he sustained in the 2021 preseason games.
Nunn averaged 14.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 38.1% three-point shooting last time we saw him on the floor.
According to Lakers’ Mike Trudell, Darvin Ham noted how well Nunn has been playing during practices as of late- giving the former the possible start at the shooting guard spot.
Westbrook is another issue altogether. Since the Lakers failed to trade the 2017 MVP during the 2022 offseason, speculation has ramped up that Ham could consider making Westbrook the first man off the bench- something the former MVP has never done in his career thus far. But, if you have LeBron James and Anthony Davis at both forward spots, putting Westbrook at the point guard position may be a better option out of the gates.
Despite his struggles during his first season in Hollywood, Westbrook was actually the most consistent Laker. He averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, 7.1 assists, and a steal in 78 regular season games last season. While there’s no assurance whether or not Russell Westbrook would remain with the club after the next trade deadline, him being the lead point guard for the Lakers would be the smartest thing Coach Ham can do for the time being.
LeBron-Davis Frontline
The starting frontline shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone already because there was really no one else.
With Damian Jones back with the Lakers- this time as a potential starter, he could afford LeBron James and Anthony Davis the freedom to return to their natural positions at small forward and power forward respectively.
The LeBron-AD duo has been forced to play against bigger and younger centers and power forwards over the past two seasons due to the lack of a true 5. At some points last year, LeBron even played as a de-facto center.
With Damian Jones now occupying the center spot, the duo of LeBron and Davis could simply exploit the mismatches they would get and slash their way to the basket. At the end of the day however, the success of this potential starting frontline will ultimately boil down to whether or not the two can stay healthy this season.
For all of LeBron James’ ability to defy Father Time, if Anthony Davis is hobbled, the Lakers will struggle. It’s as simple as that.
Who starts at the 5?
As previously mentioned, Damian Jones appears to have the inside track for the starting center role at the moment. The 6’11” former 1st round pick averaged 8.1pts/4.4reb/1.2ast in 2021-22, and is comfortable acting as a defensive anchor and rim runner. Something Anthony Davis has been loath to do since joining the Lakers.
However for the first time in what seems like years, LA actually has some depth at the big man position. The Lakers signed former Washington Wizard Thomas Bryant to a 1yr/$2.1M contract this offseason to bolster their frontcourt rotation.
Bryant has experience in a starting 5 role and averaged 7.4pts/4reb/0.9ast in 16 minutes per game last year. While it’s possible that either Jones or Bryant seize the role and run away with it, the most likely scenario is that the Lakers will split minutes fairly evenly in the opening weeks of the season.
-Iggy Gonzales
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.